I should probably tell you I’m writing this on the eve of a new year. This is always a serious day, isn’t it? Though it can be filled with fun and anticipation — maybe sparkling plans for the evening – it’s also a solemn time, too. Most use it as a time of reflection and resolve for the new year to come, right? If you check your news feeds, I’m sure they’re ripe with advice and counsel, full of quotes and inspiration, lists and schedules, plus offers of programs and products to help tackle your new year.

I’m just here with one simple goal — to provide you something easy you can do every day. My offer is completely customizable to your life, your goals, your capabilities, and the new year you’re trying to create, too. It’s yours and yours to keep — my gift to you as it were (but, really, this is a gift you give yourself).

If you’re like a lot of people, you use this day to reflect on the year that passed. Maybe there was a new baby, a promotion, or a wonderful vacation; so you’re happy about that. But, a lot of what you remember can make you melancholy, negative, or full of sorrow, too. You review events and people, those who entered your life and under what circumstances, and the stories about those who departed the Earth. You think of places you went and places you wished you’d seen, but did not. You think of developing illnesses, persistent or puzzling situations, and unresolved problems that will follow you into the new year. Perhaps you remember goals met, but mainly you think about those that failed, and how you failed, too.

On some level, I think we all do that. I know I used to. We all want what’s coming to be better than what just happened.

I think many of us dwell on sadness, the grief, or the bad. This makes it hard to look forward to a new day or a new year. For all it’s worries, problems and regrets, we become attached to the bad, making it hard for us to let yesterday go. For all the failures and how we feel about them, it makes letting go of last year much harder, too. Not consciously, friends, but emotionally.

It came to me recently that many of us create a story on the eve of every new day. We recite our story when falling asleep. The story tells us:

I failed today, so I need to do better tomorrow.

By the end of the year, we’ve written a longer story. It’s the one we recite on the eve of a new year:

This year was really bad, so next year had better be really great to make up for it.

Such a bummer, right? And, talk about pressure for the new year!

How would it be if you could begin to turn that around? What would it look like if you could look forward to every new day? Can you imagine how life would change if you anticipate the gifts of every new year?

Try the daily practice I use every morning. This simple strategy will change your new year (and could quite possibly change your whole life).

Begin by breathing and finding your roots into the ground. Smile and feel grateful. Instead of hitting the floor in a rush and panic over everything waiting on your calendar, remind yourself how grateful you are for the lessons of yesterday. Forgive (remember when Maya Angelou said, “When you know better, you’ll do better”?). Then, cultivate a rising sense curiosity over what the new day will contribute to your life, and get ready to enjoy the ride.

I do this practice daily myself. I also sometimes do it throughout the day. My favorite part is to set an intention to fully notice and participate in my day. I fill myself with a sense of excitement and eagerness about what may happen. And, by the time I get out of bed, I honestly look forward to going along for the ride.

After doing this for a while, it should come more and more naturally. Whereas I used to rise with some confusion as to how my day might go, I now wake with great curiosity over what’s to come. I’m happy with whatever happened the day before, and I literally cannot wait to see what the new day will show me. For those worried about excellence and productivity, you should know that you’ll still rise with plans to make and goals to meet, but you’ll have a different level of energy and eagerness than you did before.

In a nutshell, this daily practice has taught me that each day doesn’t happen to me, it happens for me, for my learning, and for my life evolution. It’s exciting!

If you already have a daily practice, add this into it. If you don’t already have a practice, this might be just the one you’re looking for. Let me know either way — I look forward to hearing about your practice in the COMMENTS, below.

With much love,

As a coach, writer, recovered over-doer and busyness addict, I understand the challenges of creating a balanced, healthy lifestyle while the mind tries to sabotage your success. In my journey to vibrant health, I created a personalized health system of nutrition and supplementation, lifestyle changes, and I retrained my mind and the energy of my body. I view my success as the formula to my happy, healthy life. I now empower other women to create their own personalized formulas, including the tools and strategies just right for them! Amazing life shifts come from our relationships. I look forward to helping you, too!

Ever have the feeling you’re too tough on your kids? If the work you’re assigning is harder than it needs to be? Think there’s too much of it?

Or maybe you worry the work is too easy? That you’re a push-over? That there aren’t enough activities to fill the day?

We all have these thoughts from time to time.

How do we find just the right amount of work for our kids?

How do we know if it’s too hard, too easy, or just right?

Finding the perfect balance for every student takes time. I’ve never met anyone who got it right the first time.

Balance takes months, even years, to get right. And then kids mature, life takes twists and turns, and we start all over again.

Don’t worry. You’ll keep up. Eventually.

This may help.

——————————————————

If balance is your concern, take a moment to ask the following questions. Ask them for every child in your homeschool, too. The answers will help understand if that elusive balance has been reached. If not, they’ll at least indicate areas you can work on to get there:

#1 First and foremost, is the child learning and happy?

Answering YES to this question is crucial. Homeschooling isn’t about being miserable. It’s about maturing and progressing, while living a good life.

#2 Next, is the child challenged, but not to the point of frustration?

Answering YES to this question is what you’re after. Can the child handle the amount and difficulty of the work you’re assigning — without stress and tears (yours or theirs)? And while feeling good about himself/herself? Refer back to #1 if you aren’t sure.

#3 Then ask, is there much idle time?

With no clear purpose (sometimes indicated by boredom, clamoring for attention, or mischief)? Answering YES to this question means it’s time for a tweak or two. Many children do fill their hours with worthwhile activities, ones you approve of, which add to their learning and development. But some kids need our help filling those hours for them. Determine how your child uses idle time, then tweak accordingly.

#4 Ask yourself if there’s enough time in the child’s day for play, hobbies, sports, day dreaming, or other things the child likes to do.

Is there enough time for winding down at the end of the day and preparing for a good night’s sleep? Answering NO to this question indicates a child’s day may be too full.

#5 Finally, does the child’s output match what is generally expected at that age/grade/stage of life?

This isn’t an exact science, and varies from child to child. But for those worried about it, it’s helpful to check the quantity & quality of work against what experts, authors, textbooks, publishers, or placement tests say children might be doing at approximately this stage of life. (Read about placement and understanding scope & sequence to learn more.) If there are genuine issues hampering progress, handle them. If you can’t, simply factor them into the equation.

Remember, the perfect balance will change as the years go on, and from child to child, too. What was normal one year will change to match a child’s maturity, habits and developing mind the next.

Keeping asking yourself these questions every six months, or every year, to keep up. You’ll get it!

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. The founder of many homeschool groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed as it illustrates how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, or with no educational background whatsoever. A liaison for regional school-to-home organizations and a homeschool leader in Florida, Marie-Claire also mentors homeschool families nationwide. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., Home Education Council of America, and many other events. She currently writes for audiences at Quick Start Homeschool, which she founded in 2010, and as a guest writer on other sites as often as she can. Her articles have appeared in CONNECT magazine, on Homefires, at Circle of Moms, and she has contributed to hundreds of other blogs nationwide. Dr. Moreau can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.

Opportunities to connect with new families are always welcome! Today, I get to meet some awesome new people over at Vibrant Homeschooling!

In my guest post, I’m completely transparent about a struggle I faced when my kids were very young. I share how hard days sometimes got to me, but how they also taught me valuable lessons about my kids, our homeschool, and (perhaps most importantly) about myself.

Here’s a preview of the article, but make sure to read the ENTIRE ARTICLE, so you don’t miss the ending…

It was a rainy morning, the third in three days.

And though I dreamt of sipping hot cocoa and playing with the boys in their blanket fort all day, I found myself piling three wriggly uncooperative children into a minivan and heading off to the library instead.

My feelings weren’t because I thought the activity would be unpleasant. Actually, I thought it was going to be epic.

I knew this, because I had organized the class myself. Not only had I made sure it would be taught by the most knowledgeable person in the state, but I had been careful to specifically request live specimens (not those phony plastic models), periods of learning for every different age group, printed take-home activities and web links, and generally a program I could be proud of.

Yet, for some reason, I didn’t want to go. The day was gloomy and the blanket fort was calling. I could just tell my kids weren’t up for another day on the town.

Without getting into ugly details, let me just say my instincts were spot on that day. Indeed staying home would have been the better option.

Because the enormous headache and stained jersey I came home with was eclipsed in much greater proportion by the display my kids put on at the library. And if their antics and attitudes and complete lack of interest and total lack of participation weren’t already enough to reveal what a parenting failure I was, I proceeded to have a mini melt-down myself…

If you’ve followed me a while, you know I prefer to be scheduled. Schedules keep me focused, keep me productive, and give me peace of mind.

But what you might not know is exactly how I use schedules. Or how schedules don’t rule over me.

In fact, I rule over them.

In this post, I’d like to talk a bit about block schedules. I want to first tell you their traditional origins. Then, I want to tell you how I modify and use the traditional model to meet my family’s specific needs instead.

If you or someone you know wants to hear this information first-hand, I’d be glad to come speak to your group. Turns out, not only is this really good stuff to read about, it’s is one of my most requested talks, too.

So, the basic thinking behind block scheduling is this: you decide what needs to be accomplished each day, you divide the day into time periods from morning until night, and you schedule people into each time period so that everything gets done.

I didn’t invent this way of thinking — schedules have been around for generations. But, if you’ve never heard of the concept, watch this for a brief introduction.

The problem with this method of scheduling is it can be very rigid. Some people don’t like having the entire day planned out ahead of time. Many people find it exhausting to move from task to task all day long. There are also philosophical and psychological objections, as many people find schedules an assault on their way of thinking, their creativity — a big brother-ish type of mechanism controlling their every move.

Some years ago, I discovered a solution to that problem. I was pretty excited about it.

My discovery solved the block scheduling problems I was having in my home. Plus, it solved all of the objections I was hearing from the people who attended my scheduling classes and workshops, too.

The solution I invented was to “plan” unplanned time. You heard it here first!

This was a huge and ground-breaking discovery for me. Something so simple made such a tremendous difference!

What I now do in my home, and I now teach in my seminars, is how to “schedule” down-time. Crazy as it sounds, it really works!

Not only do I schedule down-time, I also schedule free time. Choice time. And times when nobody in the house wants to be scheduled, needs to be scheduled, or should be scheduled, either.

Oh, and I also schedule people who are not on the schedule.

Confusing?

It’s really not. Because by un-scheduling time and people, they receive freedom. The freedom they need, want and choose throughout the day. While still keeping the rest of the household and duties right on task.

By the way, I also schedule things! You’ll need to attend a seminar to hear about that part.

Block scheduling isn’t what you think. I’ve solved it!

I’d love to show you how block schedule can work for you, your partner, your kids, and in your life.

A frequent question from parents is, “How long does homeschooling take?” It’s normal to wonder how long something will take if you’ve never done it before. It’s also normal to wonder if your school day is taking much longer than everybody else’s.

When we first started years ago, the time factor played considerably into our decision, as the nearest school involved driving dirt roads, paying a toll, and an almost 2 hour round trip. Though my husband and I were 99.9% sure we’d be homeschooling at that point, we were still keenly aware if we ever did decide to put our kids in a classroom, the journey back and forth would have a major impact on our time.

Parents each homeschool a little differently. Kids learn differently, too. I cannot estimate the average length of a homeschool day, because there is no average. But I can tell you this: when my kids were little, they were easily homeschooled (the formal lesson portion) in less time than it would have taken me to drive and pick them up from school twice a day.

It’s time for a little disclaimer. What I’ll be talking about in this article is strictly book work and the curriculum types of exercises that many people view as the “homeschool” part of the day. The reason it’s important you know this, is because kids learn all day long, whether they’re “in school” or not. What I am about to tell you, is how long the book work portion of homeschooling took in our home. But what you also need to realize, is that our success really came from raising our kids in an environment rich with opportunities for learning all day long. Please understand any estimate I could give would account for only a fraction of our success.

Now, if you’ve read this far, you’re probably still wondering how long homeschooling takes. I am about to give you an idea of how long it took my kids, in our home. But, please, make sure to read this article to the very end, as it is only then that you’ll understand fully how long homeschooling really takes.

Preschool / Kindergarten / 1st Grade

(2 to 2.5 hours formal lessons per day)

We simulated a classroom environment in the early years, and my kids did book work from a very young age. I was lucky, as my husband built us a dedicated area for our classroom, which included a learning area, a quiet area, a swing set just steps away so I could see the kids from the window, and a bathroom, too. The classroom model was all we knew, and it turns out, we enjoyed many years of using it, too.

In the early years, we began each day in a very school-like fashion: a calendar lesson, a day of the week, a letter of the alphabet, a weather report, and learning to tell time on a little plastic clock. We’d then read together for 20-30 minutes, and then split up for individual activities.

Because I schooled all my kids in the same room and kept the baby in there, too, it was easy to move from kid to kid. Those years included early curriculum, but also lots of reading, drawing, workbooks, audio and video tapes, and creative projects to accompany whatever we were working on. I kept boxes and boxes of early learning toys in the classroom, which I swapped in and out for children who needed a break or needed to be kept busy as I was doing something else. We had chalk boards, white boards, felt boards, and plenty of ways to learn for the several hours we were in there. We kept pets in our classroom, too, so there was always something fun to do.

I am not going to lie — those years were pretty exhausting. If I had it to do over, I would greatly relax my requirements (learn how) . But, again, it was what I knew at the time and, fortunately, it worked very well for us.

Grades 2 – 5:

(3-4 hours per day)

As my kids got older, I introduced more curriculum for the core areas we covered in the mornings, and more things we could all do together for hands-on and specials in the afternoon. We covered pretty much every subject, every day. Our days varied, but with several young ones in the house, it definitely took all morning long for the older ones to get their book work done — approximately 3 to 4 hours. We also worked through lunch, and I did music appreciation lessons and foreign language (on alternating days) during our lunch breaks at the kitchen counter. On a typical day, our mornings started at 8 or 9, and ended somewhere around 12 or 1 — even 2. The afternoons were when we came together for projects, electives, chores and play time.

Remember I had multiple children, so homeschooling one child would have been entirely different for us in those grades. And in the interest of full disclosure, I wasn’t above putting kids for naps or letting them watch a video when I really needed a break — which was quite a bit. These were the years when things could fall apart with no warning, and when I spent much of the time gathering the scraps of our days and counting them as school. Our well-planned days didn’t always go as predicted with little ones about, but there were enough days that finished well, so the accumulation of these years amounted to a whole lot.

Middle Years:

(4 to 4.5 hours per day)

The middle years were much more straight-forward in our home. In my opinion, they were easy. My children were assigned things to do, and they did them. I had trained them to work on schedule, they knew where everything was located, plus all of our household and chore systems were well in place by the time they were able to work more independently. Those were also the years when I moved more into a supervisory/tutor/helper role than that of the full-time teacher I had been when they were younger. And because my older kids spent more time working on their own, those years afforded me the time I needed to be with the younger ones. For those who were wondering, that may help to explain how homeschool parents manage to teach multiple children at the same time.

Honestly, if I had it to do over again, I would have skipped some of the middle grades with my kids. The truth is, they were all ready for high school work long before I ever offered it to them. I feel we wasted time during the middle years when I could have been accelerating them forward even faster than I did. Knowing what I know now, I believe traditional middle school is wholly a waste of time. But, I digress…

High School Years:

(6-7 hours per day, maybe more)

It is hard for me to estimate how much time my high schoolers spend on formal book work. That’s because their sleep schedules change (they don’t start at the same time every day), they are able to work for long periods on their own (thus I don’t always see them), and their classes and study periods often take place somewhere else (they take online classes and college courses). In addition, since my high schoolers make their own schedules for the most part (except in 9th, when I schedule them), there are days when they decide to work solely on one thing, and other days when they touch multiple classes in one day.

I estimate my teens spend approximately 6 hours per day on book work, but I think the number could actually be higher. It isn’t that I don’t observe my kids, because I do. I also go over their planners every Sunday night. But, so much happens out of my direct earshot, and so many classes happen somewhere else, I cannot always really know how many curriculum hours they put in. What I do know is that we all meet at the dinner table every evening, and oftentimes my teens have just finished their work, or say they still have more to do after dinner until late into the evening. Their workload varies pretty much every day. Sometimes, I don’t even get to see the work until it’s turned in for grading.

Final thoughts:

I hope this has given you a glimpse into how we do homeschool in our home, but I remind you that these estimates include only our book/curriculum work, and not all of the other things my kids do during the afternoons and weekends, and the activities they do with other homeschoolers and community groups. For instance, this doesn’t include the coops my kids belong to and the field trips they go on. It doesn’t include the classes they take at libraries and museums. It doesn’t include the things they listen to in the car, read in the paper, discuss at the dinner table, and books they bring along with them to the beach. It doesn’t include the programs they watch, the web sites they visit, the games they play, the hobbies they keep, the lessons they take, the sports they play, the volunteer organizations they work with, and the thousands of other things that add as much — if not more – to their education. I am not boasting about my kids, merely reminding you there is no way to measure all the learning that occurs during childhood by simply counting hours.

Remember, there are many paths to homeschooling success and our way is just one of them. I always encourage families to see what works best in their homes, and continually tweak the process as they move along. Whereas an hour may seem like a long time to work on one topic in one family, it is never enough time in another.

Please, always do what works best for you and your children.

When people ask how long homeschooling takes, though we can give estimates like these, what we also need to do is explain that homeschooling really takes all day. It takes all night, too. Actually, it takes an entire childhood. That’s because education is more than just the books and the schedules. Learning is the work of a child and homeschooling lasts until they take learning into their own hands as adults.

When you share my articles, it helps me understand the kinds of information you need most.

I’ll cut right to the chase. The takeaway from this article is to start high school transcripts early. And by early, I mean at the end of 8th grade or the beginning of 9th. Some of you planning-types may want to do it even earlier.

By starting in 9th, the blank transcript is set up and ready to go. It’s typed up. It’s saved to a computer. You like it. You trust it. It contains a place for every little thing you know needs to be there. It’s printed out, and a blank copy is pinned to a bulletin board. It’s ready when you are.

It takes time to get a transcript just right. Spacing takes time. Grading formulas must be thought out. Advanced design elements take time to figure out, especially if this is the first time you’ve ever done a transcript.

With a blank framework already in place, you’ll never need to do that step again. Ever. It becomes a fill-in-the-blank kind of thing forever more. You can drop things in any time you get a minute. Updates are quick. Entries are a breeze. Changes take no time at all.

Finally, it avoids you reaching the finish line unprepared. I call that, “transcript horror”, which is basically your worst nightmare — the one in which you’ve been asked to recreate the last 4 years of homeschool entirely from memory. Oh, and part of the nightmare is that your student’s entire future depends on your ability to perform this task in, say, a couple of hours or less. Perfectly. Otherwise, he won’t get in to college, get a job, earn scholarship money or have a good life.

Early transcript prep is one the greatest returns on the high school investment. A great transcript goes a long, long way for your student. I have seen lots of transcripts over the years, so you’ll have to trust me on this one. Your student deserves better than a last-minute, hastily thrown together sheet of paper that barely meets minimum standards.

Do you have a student grades 7th, 8th or 9th grade right now? Can you guess what time it is?

Unless you already have a transcript hanging from the wall, the time to create one is now. Get working.

Creating and following a plan still means high schooling will be a lot of fun. But, it also means something else that is very important — it helps avoid the time-wasting swerves, curves, and distractions it takes to get to your destination.

In other words, you get there better and faster.

A high school plan is a like a road map in more ways than one: it requires quite a bit of planning before heading out onto the open road; it provides the most efficient route toward your destination (or can help you plan a longer route, if you prefer); and, it also designates the specific roadways, travel markers and exits to spot and follow along the way.

Why take a risk with your child’s future? Following a plan guarantees you’ll all arrive safely and on time.

I don’t wait until high school to create a child’s high school plan, and you shouldn’t either. Middle school is really the optimal time to start. You can certainly start one at any time. But, starting in 7th or 8th grade gives you plenty of time to begin thinking about all the different high school options, and start shopping for opportunities, too.

Homeschooling provides many different roads to graduation, but one thing is perfectly clear: having a road map is the surest way to arrive safely and on time. And though occasional pot holes and detours can’t always be avoided, a plan makes it easy to hop back on course, and lose as little time as possible along the way.

In general, families tend to withdraw children from schools and start homeschooling in either (a) August/September, (b) December/January or (c) May/June. Those are certainly those times of year I receive the most inquiries about getting started. And though there isn’t a whole lot of data about it, some numbers, lots of experts, and 20+ years of hearsay confirms these peaks in homeschool registrations across the country.

But, despite peaks during certain times of the year, homeschooling a child can actually begin at any time. And though parents are sometimes advised that homeschooling must begin at the beginning of a year, in fact, parents can legally withdraw students from school and start homeschooling any time they want.

Sometimes, parents are misinformed — led to believe it is not in a child’s best interest to withdraw him/her during a school year.

Often, parents get bad advice — most often from districts and school-related personnel. Sometimes, from grandparents or other family members. too.

When considering homeschooling, it is very important to consult state homeschooling laws and to gather information from trusted sources (e.g., established homeschool organizations, veteran homeschool parents, or legal associations aimed at helping homeschool families).

When considering withdrawing a student from school, it is critical that parents make contact with the people and groups that can accurately explain the procedures and protocols followed in an area.

Plainly, school districts — as well-intentioned as yours might be – are not equipped to advise parents about homeschooling. They are unable to relay accurate or helpful homeschooling information to families considering making the switch. It’s just not what they do.

School teachers — no matter how wonderful your child’s teacher might be – do not usually understand homeschooling, either. They cannot offer worthwhile guidance. It’s not part of teacher training.

So, are you considering withdrawing a child from school? Is homeschooling something you are planning to do — but you’ve been waiting until the right time to begin?

Please don’t wait.

If you want to, start now.

No matter what you have been told, there is no law anywhere preventing parents from beginning to homeschool at any time. Families may legally start homeschooling any day of the year — whether in July, mid-November, end of April, or even on New Year’s Eve!

I frequently hear from parents who have been advised to “finish out the school year” before withdrawing a child to homeschool instead. Some parents are even told their child will lose credits, fall behind, or have trouble keeping a student on pace if they withdraw in the middle of a school year.

False.

Legally and otherwise.

In my 20+ years of working with homeschoolers, I have never come across a situation where leaving a child in school (prior to homeschooling) was beneficial for any reason!

Why leave a child in a bad situation? Why leave a child in a program that isn’t working?

Surely, you’re homeschooling for a reason. If that reason is unlikely to change, or if you’ve decided homeschooling is right for some other reason, do it when the time is right for YOU.

How about today?

I’d be happy to help you get started. CLICK HERE to let me know if I can be of service.

I’m about to push a button. By writing about something a little touchy.

I fear I may ruffle some feathers.

In advance — I’m sorry.

But, if you’ve been with me for some time, you’ve begun to understand. Read previous posts if you have to.

You know I don’t want you to settle. And I don’t think you need to sacrifice yourself just to homeschool, either.

Remember, I started this blog, this web site, and began offering my services because I want your life to be extraordinary.

Mine is.

I know you want that, too.

But, if I’m right, in addition to homeschooling, making a home, and being a parent, another part of you wants personal and professional success.

You want a job, a career, and a reason to get up in the morning besides math and laundry.

You seek online popularity. A following. Connection. A side income. Free product. An outlet, a hobby, fulfillment, recognition, appreciation, and the rest. Or, maybe you need to replace — even exceed – a full-time income, too. I get that. I really do.

You can have it.

But, a word of caution…

Your kids need you, too.

See, if you aren’t careful, observant, ultra vigilant and very-very-very aware, your path to success can be detrimental to your kids.

That’s right — you might actually harm them.

In fact, while it may seem innocent enough, your commitment to your success, your personal evolution, your professional development — while commendable and certainly very valuable for you – well, it could leave them (your kids) in the dust.

In search of your own success, isn’t it possible — even a teensy bit possible – that there isn’t enough of you left for them?

Taking your attention away from your kids and heaping it upon yourself has a way of undermining things. Your homeschooling, for sure. But, in reality, everything surrounding and having to do with your kids.

Let me be very clear. For us homeschool parents, focusing on ourselves is necessary. It’s required for our health, a prerequisite for our sanity, and critically necessary for our relationships and overall happiness. It’s a no-brainer, really. ALL parents need a break every once in a while.

But overly focusing on ourselves (our blogs, our stats, our social media, our goals, our training) is risky. Unless well-scheduled and well-balanced, there may be little time left to focus on the other things we need to do. As in, our kiddies.

When climbing your own ladder of success, please — I beg you. Take your children with you.

See, it’s a balancing act. And I’m worried. Because, for some of you, that balance may not be quite right.

I worry you may ignore them.

I worry you may shush them, assign busywork, brush them off, or turn on the television/computer/video box, a little too much.

I worry the lure of a second income, the distraction of social media, and the whole ‘I can have it all’ mentality may suck you in.

And, heck, I’ll just say it…I worry achieving your professional goals may make you less-than-a-great-parent. Not forever. But at a time when your kids really need you.

Have I ever been guilty? You bet. But, fortunately, I think I learned quickly. I can tell when I’ve ignored my role or my family just a little too much. I can recognize when I have allowed something in our home or school or health or relationships to slip. Either I notice it, or they tell me.

That’s why I don’t blog more often.

That’s why my list of projects is always a mile long.

Believe me, this all takes practice. I’m not perfect, either. It takes trial and error to get the balance just right, and then things go and change, so you have to start all over again. In our home, this seems to happen several times a year.

But it’s worth it, don’t you think? Because the kids won’t need 100% of you forever.

Try to remember why you’re homeschooling, as this will guide you. You’ll know when to give the kids a boost, helping them to reach the first and second steps. You’ll know when to hold their hands, and when to back up and just start holding the ladder. You’ll know when to stand there watching nervously, and when it’s time to turn your back so they can climb alone.

No matter your style of homeschooling, you’ll want to keep track of the things you do. From subjects the kids study to the list of books they’ve read, it’s nice to have a record of the learning year.

Many families enjoy recording all the things that happen during homeschool, and do it as a way of documenting the childhood years. But, it’s important to note that many states actually require homeschool records, too. That’s why it’s important to have a system in place for dropping papers and tracking dates in case you need them again.

There are lots of different ways for keeping homeschooling information. It can be helpful to hear how other families do it, before creating a personalized system of your own.

These are 3 easy ways for families to store important papers, and keep track of the learning that occurs each year:

Tote, Box or Bin

A popular way to keep track of important homeschool “stuff” is by dropping it in a large box, tote or bin. Keeping things stored in one place means they’re always available in the same spot every single time. While this may not seem like the most organized way to store projects and paperwork, it does guarantee that kids always have a place to leave things for mom or dad, and save things that are important to them. Plus, it makes sure that nothing important ever gets thrown away or misplaced throughout the year. Ask any parent who has spent an entire day searching for a single, very important homeschool piece of paper, and you’ll hear how valuable this really is!

Filing System

Another way to store homeschooling data and work samples is in tabbed file folders. Instead of putting everything into one giant box, file folders help organize related materials together, making for much easier access later on. Depending on the family and the homeschooling style, files could be created for every child, every subject, or both. Additional files can be created for other things to save, such as web sites for school use, books completed, special projects assigned, activities done as a family, legal documents, grades or test scores, photographs of the children, flyers and pamphlets collected while on field trips, or anything else that is important enough to save. Since larger projects cannot fit into folders, taking photos of projects or storing them somewhere else may be necessary. Note: If file folders are not available, large envelopes, stacking paper trays or rolling storage carts with drawers can be used instead.

Digital Collection

Digital technology makes it possible to store vast amounts of homeschooling data in one small space. Taking digital photos of projects and people, and scanning individual documents is a third option. While this could be time-consuming at first, developing a habit of working primarily online, and saving work electronically will eventually reduce the amount of time it takes to create digital records, ultimately eliminating the need to use paper at all. To satisfy the desire to have a hard copy (to display on the coffee table or show grandparents), some families like to create a photo collage, scrap book, or other showcase for every child, and have it professionally printed (think SnapFish or Shutterfly) as a book or spiral-bound journal at the end of each year.

pamphlets, ticket stubs, brochures and other memorabilia collected throughout the year

transcripts, report cards, grades

class descriptions, course syllabi, names of books/curriculum used

journals written by kids, notes or lesson plans developed by parents

lab reports, research papers, other specialized assignments

records of learning accomplished in a day, week, month or year

In one of my books, I devote whole chapters to homeschool record-keeping, household organization, lesson planning and more. I cover everything I talked about in this article, plus I’ve included sample forms, charts, and schedules, too. To see that book, click here.

To organize the entire homeschool year, you might like:

Dr. Marie-Claire Moreau is a college professor who traded in her tenure to become a homeschool mom 20+ years ago. A homeschooling pioneer and the founder of many groups and organizations, she works to advance home education, and is an outspoken supporter of education reform coast to coast. Her book, Suddenly Homeschooling: A Quick Start Guide to Legally Homeschool in Two Weeks, is industry-acclaimed as it illustrates how homeschooling can rescue children and families from the public school system, and how anyone can begin homeschooling within a limited time-frame, with no teaching background whatsoever. A writer, a homeschool leader, and a women’s life coach, Marie-Claire mentors in a variety of areas that impact health, education and lifestyle. A conference speaker, she has appeared at FPEA, H.E.R.I., Home Education Council of America, The Luminous Mind, Vintage Homeschool Moms, iHomeschool Network, and many other events. Her articles have appeared in and on Holistic Parenting, CONNECT,Homefires, Homemaking Cottage, Kiwi, Circle of Moms, and hundreds of sites and blogs nationwide. Marie-Claire can be reached at contactmarieclaire@gmail.com.